VMY MEXICO | EXPERIENCE AT THE INTERNATIONAL MEETING OF YOUNG VINCENTIANS AND WORLD YOUTH DAY 2023
MY EXPERIENCE AT WYD LISBON 2023
In life you go through difficult moments that force you to make decisions, which will plunge you into the depths of a mysterious sea, but you dive in with the certainty that when you get out nothing will be the same as before. My name is María Isabel Espinosa López and you are about to read a true love story.
The first time I attended a WYD I was 21 years old, it was in Panama 2019, I knew absolutely nothing of what a pilgrimage at this level entailed, I am from a small town called Cuitlahúac in the center of the state of Veracruz, in Mexico, before I had not gone abroad, much less traveled alone. However, I made the decision out of courage, because if there is one thing that characterizes me it is that I do things with everything, even if I die of fear, otherwise what else? In short, I tell you that I was returned in love, shouting to the world of my love for Jesus, with that certainty that I was in the right place, that I did not need more, that Jesus was and is where I want to be, convinced of what I am for Jesus and not to hide it anymore and so it was. I came back to face the whole world and since then I have never been afraid to say, I am his follower.
This time, for Lisbon 2023, my context was different, the flame of my love was worn out, I went through a pandemic that turned me upside down, I lost a loved one and fell into a hole with no way out, I took refuge in my partner and my relationship became toxic. I felt abandoned, I prayed to God, but I could not find a way out, among a thousand economic and emotional difficulties WYD was not an option for me, but one day I got up from my bed and went to the bank to pay the registration fee, I surrendered myself to God’s providence and told Him: I will do everything on my part, may your will be done. We did it! By July 22 I was stepping on Spanish soil, incredible as true, I could make a tiktok of: moments of my trip that altered my brain chemistry, but I keep them in my heart.
After all, going to WYD is not going on vacation as many people believe, it is a mission where you are going to give completely all that you are, what you have and you will receive God’s love and mercy, because being a pilgrim implies being merciful, compassionate of your own and others’ sufferings, where I assure you the happiness will come multiplied. You live a week full of new people, unknown places, atypical food, different cultures, experiences that recharge your life completely; where living with each friend leaves you a little bit of their enthusiasm and that is life-giving, it is certainly worth every effort made to participate in a WYD.
When I returned from this experience I realized that God has never left me alone, that my life is full of hope, that his path will always lead me to the light and that by his hand I will be able to overcome all adversities no matter how difficult they may be. My first WYD experience made me let go of my fear to tell the world that I follow God and I love him above all things and the second one strengthened my life in the Catholic Church. Today I am a woman firm in my faith, solid and stable, full of challenges and goals to accomplish within it, using my experience, betting on the youth and trying to sow seeds that will be the fruit of a great future for VMY and the other young people of this Church.
As our good friend Pope Francis said: the Church needs us! And my question is: What are we willing to do for her? Young man, give yourself to God, the reward will be eternal.
Maria Isabel Espinosa Lopez
VMY Mexico